Designing with Roses
Surprisingly, a rose garden was not in the plans for landscaping our 3 acres at Parterre twenty-two years ago. My dear friend, and “garden whisperer,” announced that they were too… Read More
Author: Bettie Bearden Pardee
Parterre’s Rose Chain
Patience is a virtue that every gardener has learned to accept. Those dreams and visions we have that inspire design decisions, plant selections, and tree placements may take years to… Read More
Ode to the Peony
Invariably, when I ask friends their favorite flower, whether they are gardeners or not, the answer is always peonies. And, yesterday at a small lunch party, my male friend on… Read More
Breakfast Under the Pergola
Missing some much-anticipated travel this spring was offset by the sheer pleasure of being at home every day for three months. In earlier posts I’ve chronicled the glories of the… Read More
Please Don’t Ask Which One I Love More
Long before we decided to build our home, I had an obsession with proper proportion and scale in architecture. And, as an extension of that, the accessories and garden furniture… Read More
Reflecting on Gardens
Like many of us, I have found myself reflecting over the past two months about a health crises that no science-fiction writer could have scripted. Blessedly, chaos brings it owns… Read More
Almost an Oops! In the Garden
Here comes my annual salute to the real Parterre, the behind-the-scenes realities that few visitors think about. Given this provoctive, tell-all title, this is always a readers’ favorite (no surprise).… Read More
Welcoming the Tulips!
There’s a wonderful overlap in my garden that happens about this point in the spring…as the four flowering cherries finish their magical bloom time, glorious tulips start popping up in… Read More
Paris, Thanks for the Memories!
The events of the last 3 months have given a new meaning and vividness to the memories we each hold dear — almost as though a bright celestial light has… Read More
The Centerpiece of Parterre Garden
If there can be a silver lining to having had some glorious trips cancelled this spring it is that I am here, in Newport, to see my two beloved matched… Read More